Chapter 1403: A Rainbow of Resolve

After probing the situation inside, Li Yan felt both disappointed and relieved.

He wanted to see who was still up here, but at the same time, he was afraid of finding multiple Spirit Transformation cultivators. It was a contradictory feeling, yet he yearned for an answer.

After confirming the first room was empty, Li Yan calmed his mind slightly before continuing to float towards the second room. …

Nearly a hundred breaths later, Li Yan once again floated like a specter towards the third room, preparing for his third probe.

‘Still no one! This means what the old woman said might just be true!’

This time, Li Yan again chose the side of the window of the third room. He concealed his presence with even greater care. With the first two probes coming up empty, the danger was now concentrated in the latter half.

Sometime later, the concealed Li Yan’s body suddenly trembled slightly, and his expression changed. His entire presence froze; even his blood flow and heartbeat nearly came to a halt.

‘There’s someone inside!’

The moment Li Yan sensed a powerful aura within, he instantly withdrew his Divine Sense. He hadn’t even gotten a clear look at the situation inside before a dreadful tremor ran through his entire body.

The aura was so strong it seemed to fill the entire room. The instant his Divine Sense entered, it came into contact with the opponent’s presence.

But Li Yan had been fully prepared. When the “Heaven-Stealing Kerchief” melted a small hole in the restriction, the Divine Sense he extended was as fine as a wisp of mist.

Although his Divine Sense was far stronger than his peers, it was only comparable to that of an Initial-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator. So, if the opponent was a cultivator at Mid-stage Spirit Transformation or above, they should be able to sense the probe.

Li Yan immediately held his breath and stood motionless outside the room. He had only been up here for a few hundred breaths and had already run into a crisis.

Here, he was no longer like a fish in water as he had been below.

At that moment, inside the room, the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator, who was sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened her eyes.

She looked quizzically at the thick vine beside her. It had just reacted suddenly, many of its fine branches swaying gently.

“What is it?”

She had been sitting here, fully focused on piloting the giant boat, while it had been quietly standing guard for her. Sensing the sudden change in the demon vine, she immediately sent a mental transmission to it.

“It felt like someone was spying on us, but… but it also felt like I was mistaken!” an ancient voice resounded in the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator’s mind, laced with a hint of suspicion. It was the voice of the “Netherworld Demon Vine’s” tree spirit.

For a brief moment, it felt as if he was being watched in secret. But the feeling was fleeting. By the time he was alarmed and hurriedly searched, he found nothing at all.

“Someone spying?”

Upon hearing this, the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator’s Divine Sense instantly swept outside the room. But inside and out, she found no trace of anyone.

“No one?” she murmured, but then she stood up. She trusted the “Netherworld Demon Vine”; its cultivation was no less than her own.

Although the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator felt it was probably the demon vine’s imagination, having lived to her age, she would never rely solely on her own judgment.

The occurrence of such a situation, on the contrary, made her even more vigilant.

Moreover, when she had just scanned with her Divine Sense, she hadn’t found any trace of the old woman surnamed He. It seemed she hadn’t come up yet. This gave her a bad feeling.

Her body had only just begun to move when her figure vanished from its original spot. At the same time, the room door opened silently.

The speed was so fast that it was almost the instant Li Yan had just retrieved the “Heaven-Stealing Kerchief.”

The Yuan-surnamed female cultivator’s figure appeared outside the door. Her beautiful eyes scanned the surroundings. The entire deck was empty, just as her Divine Sense probe had shown.

And at that moment, to her left, about thirty zhang away, Li Yan was standing by the wall, his dark eyes fixed on her, the two cultivation arts within him circulating at their peak.

He hadn’t expected the other party to react so quickly. Her caution was no less than his own; at the slightest disturbance, she had gotten up to investigate without any hesitation.

None of these people had reached their current position by chance. Not a single one was a fool.

But the woman’s sudden appearance finally allowed Li Yan to confirm who lived here: it was one of the people he knew to be alive, the Late-stage Spirit Transformation female cultivator from “Heavenly Mountain Garden.”

Although Li Yan had withdrawn all of his Divine Sense, he could still feel another powerful pressure from behind the open door, spreading outward along with the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator’s aura.

‘Could it be Chongyangzi?’

The appearance of that unexpected powerful pressure from behind shocked Li Yan even more.

If that was the case, it would align with what the old woman surnamed He had said. Was this female cultivator really helping Chongyangzi heal? Otherwise, why would an unmarried man and woman be together like this?

But at this moment, Li Yan dared not move a muscle.

Then, he saw the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator, after a sweeping glance around, flicker and arrive at the entrance of another room. This room was the second one Li Yan had probed. He saw the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator open her mouth and say, “Fellow Daoist He!”

Then, she stood quietly outside the door. But after a moment, there was no response.

The Yuan-surnamed female cultivator couldn’t help but frown slightly. It seemed the other party was not in the room; otherwise, she would have responded no matter what.

“Fel-low… Dao-ist… He!”

This time she called out, enunciating each word. After waiting for a few more breaths, there was still no answer.

Her Divine Sense immediately swept down the staircase exit. Suddenly, she felt something was not right. Not only could she not sense the presence of the old woman surnamed He, but the entire first deck was also cold and deserted, completely empty.

It would have been understandable if the old woman surnamed He, after killing those cultivators from the two sects, had ordered her “Heavenly Mountain Garden” disciples and their “Spirit Subduing Manor” cultivators to return to their rooms and await orders.

But where was the old woman herself? She had come to her door, yet the other party hadn’t appeared! The old woman was a Spirit Transformation cultivator; killing a few Nascent Soul cultivators was a trivial matter.

Therefore, she hadn’t paid any attention to how she did it. If she had to constantly monitor such things, she might as well have done it herself.

She was not the old woman’s wet nurse, having to do everything herself. What kind of cooperation would that be?

“Fellow Daoist He!”

She called out to the room again, but this time her voice was infused with Magical Power, striking the restriction outside the room directly.

Instantly, a large patch of light lit up on the room’s main door, emitting a buzzing sound, but there was still no response from within.

In the next moment, the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator’s figure flickered and she rushed down the stairs. She had a growing feeling that something was wrong.

But no matter how noble and astute her mind was, she couldn’t guess where the problem had occurred.

Before coming, their two sects had already considered all possible unexpected situations and had formulated comprehensive countermeasures.

The moment Chongyangzi was captured, the Yuan-surnamed woman no longer felt that any accidents would occur. Here, they had mastered the life and death of everyone.

Under her Divine Sense scan, there were still many traces of fighting on the lower level, but it was eerily quiet now, like a ghostly domain. Everyone seemed to have vanished.

If those disciples had entered their rooms and activated the restrictions, she wouldn’t be able to see if anyone was inside with a single scan. She would also need to undo the formation restrictions there.

So, she had to go down and investigate, especially to find the old woman surnamed He.

Li Yan, standing motionless under the window eaves, watched how vigilant the other party was. He had only revealed a faint trace of his presence during the probe, and she had immediately reacted so quickly.

Fortunately, he had been extremely careful when he came up and had already removed the “Illusion Formation” at the staircase below.

Otherwise, with this female cultivator’s cultivation level, she would have definitely discovered that someone had set up an “Illusion Formation” at the staircase. Then, she would have become even more vigilant, making it much harder to plot against her.

As the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator flickered downstairs, Li Yan no longer waited. He quietly floated towards the open door of the third room.

He knew that this was extremely risky, but he had to find out if Chongyangzi was here, and if the powerful aura inside the door was his.

Only by clarifying all this could Li Yan know if something had gone wrong with the Blood Lantern Sect, and then he could respond accordingly.

He was currently under the double concealment of “Stealthy Night Art” and “Tidefall.” As long as he didn’t actively release his Divine Sense and only relied on his eyes to observe, the other party might not be able to detect his presence.

Under the “Phoenix Soars to the Heavens” movement skill, Li Yan was instantly brought to the front of the door.

He knew time was of the essence. This was the rarest of opportunities. The female cultivator from “Heavenly Mountain Garden” might return at any moment. By then, she would have definitely discovered that something was wrong on the entire flying boat.

Li Yan stood outside the door and glanced inside. The next moment, the scene he saw made him gasp.

The space inside the room was about the same size as the first two rooms. Although he couldn’t see the entire environment through the door, the scene inside gave Li Yan a shock.

The room was a “dense forest” covered with vines, completely different from the nearly identical furnishings of the two rooms he had previously probed.

Here, even without releasing his Divine Sense, a heart-palpitating aura still pricked Li Yan’s skin with a faint stinging sensation.

‘This is a spirit plant with spiritual intelligence!’

A shiver ran through Li Yan’s skin; it was his instinctive reaction to danger.

‘At least a fourth-rank spirit plant of the Nascent Soul level!’ Li Yan quickly judged the opponent’s strength in his heart.

And in the area he could see, he didn’t see any other cultivators. Numerous vines, large and small, hanging, winding, or coiling, blocked his line of sight.

Li Yan suppressed his presence to the limit his cultivation art could achieve, and he banished all killing intent and distracting thoughts from his mind. He knew that for some experts, even a single glance could be sensed by the other party.

So, he couldn’t let himself reveal any hint of killing intent or other emotions.

Fortunately, his greatest strength was the art of concealment and stealth. His control over this had reached a state of perfection. Li Yan confirmed once more that the spirit plant inside should not have sensed someone standing at the door observing.

Li Yan glanced at the remaining two rooms, gritted his teeth, and intended to sneak towards the staircase. At this moment, the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator had just descended the stairs.

‘She only called out for the old woman surnamed He at the second room and didn’t even ask at the other three rooms. This means that the two teams have definitely joined forces. Of the remaining three rooms, I’ve checked one, and it’s empty. The last two are either empty as well, or the people inside have been subdued…’ Li Yan thought rapidly in his heart. He had no more time to investigate.

And now he was going to check on the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator’s condition and see if he had an opportunity to launch a sneak attack. Such opportunities were fleeting.

The situation was becoming more and more critical. If any movement occurred, he had unexpectedly learned of this spirit plant. If there were other Spirit Transformation cultivators in the other two rooms, like Chongyangzi, and they came out to help, he would be caught off guard.

And just as Li Yan was about to go back to the first floor, a sudden cry of alarm came from the staircase.

“Who is it?”

When Li Yan heard this cry of alarm and anger, he knew that his plan had been exposed. The other party had discovered his trap.

It was no longer possible to attack now. Having alerted the others, he had lost his best opportunity.

Almost without thinking, his figure flickered. Instead of rushing towards the staircase, he directly entered the room in front of him.

And almost at the instant Li Yan slipped into the room, a destructive aura rushed out of the door!

The most dangerous place might just be the safest place.

After the previous test, if he didn’t release his Divine Sense, then the “Stealthy Night Art” given to him by the Five Immortal Sects was something that even the Spirit Transformation cultivators here couldn’t detect.

If the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator returned, and he hid inside, he could also monitor her movements at all times.

Even when they reached the “Great Nothingness Tree” area, this woman would definitely have to go out. Then he could use the most opportune moment to follow her out quietly and escape.

Of course, the price he might have to pay for doing so was that once discovered, he could only hide in the “Earthen Patch,” and then the “Earthen Patch” would fall into the enemy’s hands.

However, although Li Yan was cautious, he had a ruthless streak in his bones. This point had been revealed when he faced Strategist Ji, who was countless times stronger than him.

But Li Yan didn’t know that he thought this vine might be a fourth-rank existence, when in fact it was fifth-rank. That was why he had dared to use this method.

If he had known that he was actually within the attack range of two Spirit Transformation cultivators, he definitely wouldn’t have entered the room, but would have stayed outside and thought of another plan.

There was nothing he could do. Li Yan couldn’t release his Divine Sense, and his cognition was still influenced by the consistent thinking of the lower realm. He had never seen a fifth-rank spirit plant.

What’s more, Li Yan didn’t actually know what had happened, nor did he know if he could communicate with this Yuan-surnamed female cultivator. Would she be like the old woman surnamed He from the “Spirit Subduing Manor,” who would kill on sight?

Li Yan had only just settled down in the “Broken Army Sect” and had not yet made all the preparations to go to other realms.

If it weren’t for the old woman surnamed He killing on sight, he would of course want to explain that he knew nothing about the Blood Lantern Sect’s rebellion.

Li Yan flickered and entered the room. After a few light turns, avoiding many hanging branches, he first went to a corner on one side, still not emitting a single bit of killing intent.

He knew that these branches were all the eyes and ears of the spirit plant, and he couldn’t even touch them. He wanted to find a place to hide first, and then think about how to deal with the situation.

But with a sweep of his gaze, he saw a scene that he couldn’t see from outside the door. Next to a thick vine, a figure was hanging in mid-air, with more than half of its body wrapped up like a dumpling.

And although that person’s eyes were tightly closed and his face was covered in blood, Li Yan instantly recognized him. Chongyangzi, the captured Chongyangzi! …

At the staircase, a figure shot out directly. It was the gracefully built Yuan-surnamed female cultivator.

At this moment, in the middle of her originally smooth and white-jade-like forehead, there were thin vertical lines of black, purple, and red, which she was suppressing with all her might using her Magical Power.

Just now, in a flash, she had reached the staircase passage and quickly arrived at the corner of the stairs.

Then, just as she was walking out of the stairs, she felt her skin and Divine Sense seem to crash into a cloud of invisible mist, which made her slightly startled.

She had scanned this place with her Divine Sense just now. Most of the restrictions here had been closed, and only the restriction that blocked Divine Sense was still there. But these restrictions were not of much use to her.

So, she rushed down. When she felt something was wrong, she felt a layer of mist appear in her Divine Sense, which alarmed her.

She immediately stopped and stood in place. Her whole body’s Magical Power surged, protecting her entire body, and the mist in her Divine Sense also disappeared in an instant with the circulation of her cultivation art.

When she looked carefully again, she saw one more person on the deck in the distance, who looked like the old woman surnamed He.

She was instantly relieved. It seemed that she still hadn’t fully understood the formation restrictions between the first and second floors, which made her feel something was wrong after passing through the restrictions here.

So the figure of the old woman surnamed He she saw was a bit blurry, and her own Divine Sense was also affected.

Her main thought before was to get the “Great Nothingness Tree” as soon as possible. This giant boat was a magical treasure refined by a Void Refining cultivator, and the restriction functions on it were extremely complicated.

Since she had obtained it, this magical treasure would of course belong to her. She had already given the “Great Nothingness Tree” to “Heart-Refining Valley,” so they couldn’t possibly ask for a magical treasure that she had obtained at the risk of her life.

This magical treasure was really good. In the future, when she had time, she would of course have to study it carefully again, so that she could exert its greatest power.

She was about to step forward and ask the old woman surnamed He, but just as she was about to open her mouth to ask, her pretty face under the black veil suddenly changed dramatically.

“I won’t be able to update much for the next few days. During the long holiday, I have a lot of things to do at home, and I need to use this time to deal with them.”